Ivanovic's French Open triumph gets the party started in the heart of Paris

Sunday 8 June 2008 21:02 BST

Late-night revellers around the Arc de Triomphe were greeted by an extraordinary sight in the early hours of yesterday morning - four men running around the famous monument in pink Ana Ivanovic tennis dresses.

Close examination revealed them to be the new French Open champion's coach, fitness trainer, hitting partner and brother Milos fulfilling a pledge they made before the tournament began.

Sitting pretty: French Open champion Ana Ivanovic with her trophy at the Eiffel Tower

Sitting pretty: French Open champion Ana Ivanovic with her trophy at the Eiffel Tower

The group vowed that should the 20-year-old Serb win her first Grand Slam title they would do something outrageous and they were true to their word as part of a well-deserved night on the town.

Ivanovic has got where she is by being a sensible hard worker rather than a fruitcake, and apart from her tennis game the main interest she generates to the watching world is that she happens to be drop-dead gorgeous.

Indeed, women's tennis can be delighted at the marketability of its two Grand Slam champions this year - the other being Maria Sharapova - as the sporting caravan moves across the Channel in preparation for Wimbledon.

But the important question is whether Ivanovic can translate her form on the clay of Roland Garros to Wimbledon, where the going may be tougher for her.

Last year, she was handily beaten in the semi-finals by Venus Williams and both the sisters will fancy their chances against her on a court where things happen more quickly and the serve is more of a weapon.

So, too , will Sharapova, providing she is fully fit and there might be more hope for a different Serb to emerge in Jelena Jankovic.

Yet Ivanovic is a more rounded player than she was 12 months ago and, crucially, stronger between the ears after striking third time lucky in Grand Slam finals.

It was actually only a month back that she froze at the Italian Open when elevated to top seed after the sudden retirement of Justine Henin. If she felt pressure then it will be magnified several fold in two weeks.

There will also be questions about her movement on grass, for her court coverage is not her strongest attribute.

But arriving at the All England Club as a Grand Slam winner will fortify the mind and what she has shown is that there is no more natural timer of a ball on the circuit than she is. As for all the extraneous stuff, she is perfectly level-headed.

Her head coach Sven Groeneveld (one of the tennis dress four) said: 'If you look at Roger Federer you see that his character is always the same. You don't have to be obnoxious and rude to be a great champion.

'A lot of our great champions have been humble, softly spoken and strong characters and I think Ana fits into that category.'

There is a purity about Ivanovic and it will be interesting to see if she can retain it.

Evidence of what being at the top of women's tennis can do to an individual turned up at the tournament in the shape of Henin who presented the trophy to her.

Four weeks after her retirement she was back in the environment we all thought she was meant to be escaping, as if she were already some Grande Dame. Within 10 minutes of watching the final and handing out the trophy, Henin had left the stadium. Strange indeed.